10 Things TV

About the only thing I seem able to concentrate on. Though I have done a decent job of decluttering my house. Well, starting. The goal here is to have the place ready for the post-Thanksgiving open house by Halloween so all I have to do is cook.

There should probably be a Depends warning on that last sentence, shouldn't there? Ah well, dreams!

Here are my 10 Things TV.

1. Re: Breaking Bad's season finale all I can say is, "Woof!" But I might have to say it a lot. Recently someone said to me that the series must be ending because they didn't have anywhere else to go. Well. I guess they managed to open up a couple of avenues after all, didn't they?

2. Boardwalk Empire seems to be off to a rollicking start. Sometimes it moves a little languorously for my taste but it's Scorsese so that's to be expected. As of now, though, I'm hooked again! I am also more in love than ever with scary, old-timey Omar Little. Indeed.

3. I have axed Ringer, Pan Am, Playboy Club and Free Agents from the roster. PC got axed by its network, too. It's expected that FA will go any minute now, which is a shame because it's a great team but it's an awful show.

4. I am finally awash, squeaky-clean-like, in the soapiness of Grey's Anatomy. As we all know I'm character driven so I keep watching for my people but the show is just ridiculous. Except for Owen & Cristina. I can't tell whether this is because whoever writes for them is just better than whoever is writing for the rest of the show or if those 2 actors are simply able to make any crazy old thing sound plausible but I'm glad of it, whichever it is.

5. It seems like Sons of Anarchy has been on the verge of being absolutely thrilling and riveting for about a season and a half. I hope they get their grip back soon. Moment to moment it's great but the larger picture gets fuzzy.

6. I am possibly the only person on the planet who likes Whitney better than 2 Broke Girls. They're both fine, just fine, whatever sitcoms. I get a minimum of one out loud laugh per ep but Whitney seems more....fluid maybe? Don't know. It might also be that with Whitney we're not having to wade through the super broad unfunny racial stereotypes to get to what the writers seem actually committed to writing. (P.S. Mike & Molly could ditch their straight-out-of-1974 racial stereotypes and be a lot easier to watch, too.)

7. If you're watching 2 Broke Girls you should also read the weekly recap from Brokelyn, a blog based in the same neighborhood that the show is set in. (Not shot in, no, they shoot in LA, but in theory it's where it's based.)

8. How exactly does Castle manage to stay so consistent? It's funny. It does mostly stand alone eps. The mysteries are engaging. The characters aren't one dimensional. They've had one major character change in however many seasons. It's not stale. I commend them and continue to wonder how they do it but you know, I don't need to hear how the sausage is made, just serve it to me every Monday night and I'm happy.

9. There was a flash of a rumor this summer that Joshua Jackson was leaving/had left Fringe. I've seen no announcement and really don't think that's true. After seeing the first few episodes of the season I stand by my convictions. Anyone want to prove me wrong/break my heart?

10. After seeing it everywhere in every repository of fandom and 'shipping I finally succumbed yesterday and tried a couple of episodes of the first season of Downton Abbey. All those fans are right. It's that good. If you enjoy a nice costume drama and some household intrigue and Maggie Smith in fabulous hats just snobbing the bejesus out of a role then I suggest you dive headlong into this nest of hornets.

What are you watching?

*From the top: Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad, Kat Dennings of 2 Broke Girls, Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad, Maggie Smith of Downton Abbey & Nathan Fillion of Castle.